Staying Home Sucks, home
Mulambin Beach with Causeway Lake in the background, 2009
Near Kemp Beach, 2 km away. Photo: Michael Zimmer, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Kemp Beach

Surf spot · Australia

Is it worth the trip?

3Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Wed 4: too small (1 ft swell at 3 s)

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 3 out of 100

Swell
1 ft3 smushy
Energy
1kJ
Wind
NE 7 kn
Temp
28°C

Tue 3 · 2 out of 100

Swell
under 1 ft3 s
Energy
0kJ
Wind
N 9 kn
Temp
30°C

Wed 4 · 8 out of 100

Swell
1 ft3 smushy
Energy
2kJ
Wind
NNE 4 kn
Temp
31°C

Thu 5 · 1 out of 100

Swell
under 1 ft6 s
Energy
0kJ
Wind
W 4 kn
Temp
29°C

Fri 6 · 1 out of 100

Swell
under 1 ft7 s
Energy
0kJ
Wind
W 4 kn
Temp
29°C

Sat 7 · 1 out of 100

Swell
under 1 ft3 s
Energy
0kJ
Wind
NE 7 kn
Temp
28°C

Sun 8 · 1 out of 100

Swell
under 1 ft2 s
Energy
0kJ
Wind
NE 10 kn
Temp
29°C

Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 23, too small
  2. Tue 32, too small
  3. Wed 48, too small
  4. Thu 51, too small
  5. Fri 61, too small
  6. Sat 71, too small
  7. Sun 81, too small
  8. Mon 91, too small
  9. Tue 105, too small
  10. Wed 115, too small

The spot in five facts

  • Faces Etakes swell from the E
  • Offshore: Wwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 3–12 ftof swell
  • Water 26 °Cno wetsuit

Full forecast

every day, every number

Kemp Beach does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Kemp Beach, each day
DayScorefor Inter­mediateSwellEnergyWindTemp
Mon 2Nov3, too small1 ft3 smushy1 ft at break (est.)1kJwind from the north-east, 7 knots28°C
Tue 3Nov2, too smallunder 1 ft3 s1 ft at break (est.)0kJwind from the north, 9 knots30°C
Wed 4Nov8, too small1 ft3 smushy1 ft at break (est.)2kJwind from the north-north-east, 4 knots31°C
Thu 5Nov1, too smallunder 1 ft6 sunder 1 ft at break (est.)0kJwind from the west, 4 knots, offshore29°C
Fri 6Nov1, too smallunder 1 ft7 sunder 1 ft at break (est.)0kJwind from the west, 4 knots, offshore29°C
Sat 7Nov1, too smallunder 1 ft3 sunder 1 ft at break (est.)0kJwind from the north-east, 7 knots28°C
Sun 8Nov1, too smallunder 1 ft2 sunder 1 ft at break (est.)0kJwind from the north-east, 10 knots29°C
Mon 9Nov1, too smallunder 1 ft7 s1 ft at break (est.)1kJwind from the east-south-east, 14 knots24°C
Tue 10Nov5, too small1 ft5 smushy1 ft at break (est.)4kJwind from the east, 10 knots25°C
Wed 11Nov5, too small1 ft3 smushy1 ft at break (est.)1kJwind from the east-north-east, 8 knots25°C
Thu 12Nov7, too small1 ft3 smushy1 ft at break (est.)1kJwind from the north-east, 5 knots25°C

Energy is the swell's power, in kJ per metre of wave. Wind is in knots, the arrow where it blows to; green is offshore. More

Tide

  • Mon 2 NovHigh 03:50 +0.8 mLow 09:39 −1.2 mHigh 16:11 +1.8 mLow 22:55 −1.6 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 05:06 +1.0 mLow 10:58 −1.3 mHigh 17:18 +1.8 mLow 23:54 −1.8 m
  • Wed 4 NovHigh 06:07 +1.4 mLow 12:05 −1.4 mHigh 18:16 +1.8 m

Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Map

the spot, its town, photos

Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for beginners: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Photos of Kemp Beach

Common Crow
Near Kemp Beach. Photo: John Tann from Sydney, Australia, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Female Purple Crow
Near Kemp Beach. Photo: John Tann from Sydney, Australia, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Trachyte Columns near Rosslyn Queensland Australia 2
Near Kemp Beach, 1 km away. Photo: Michael Zimmer (zayzayem on Flickr) https://www.flickr.com/people/zayzayem/, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

More surf near here

1 place

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Kemp Beach

Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.

The spot faces E (76°), so it takes swell from the E. The wind blows offshore from the W (256°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 3–12 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves very gently: 10 m deep about 2.3 km out (1 in 227). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 20°C in July, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 28°C in January, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Yeppoon, 6.3 km away (about 15 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 1 wind sports spot.

Water about 26°C: no wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,800–US$3,440 each

about US$1,800–US$3,440 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, taxi, stay, food, board and wetsuit.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 2 November 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to ROK, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX and BNE, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$892–US$1,850
Taxiairport and back, sharedabout US$94–US$154
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$356–US$597
Food7 days eating outabout US$322–US$597
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$141–US$235
Totalabout US$1,800–US$3,440

For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: 2 towns

Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn

Closest

Yeppoon

about 15 min by car · 25 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 25 places to stay in Yeppoon · Booking.com

About Yeppoon its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$134 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 2 November 2026.

Getting there: about 31h 10m

About 31h 10m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → ROK, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Brisbane International Airport (BNE), then 1h by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

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